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You need to read up on airline procedure and the ADA, I'm not giving you opinion but fact. If the situation with a person with a disability endangers the flight, they can be removed from the plane for ANY REASON at the discretion of the Captain. They don't have to answer to anyone for anything.
My favorite uncle is a retired legacy carrier Captain and his stories of self righteous passengers are horrific.
The FAA trumps the ADA every time.
I don't need to read up on anything. Airline procedures are immaterial; FAA regulations apply. The ADA says a disabled person and their service animal are permitted anywhere a member of the general public is permitted. The flight crew can certainly refuse accommodation to any person or animal that represents a safety risk but there was no claim in the original post or the linked article that demonstrated or claimed a safety risk.
The captain can rule on a safety violation but certainly not on a whim which is what the language "because I can" indicated. If it is determined that there was no safety issue expect American Airlines, the involved flight attendants and yes, the captain to pay the price.
ADA accommodations must be "reasonable." What is "reasonable" can be and often is fought in the courts but if the pilot, say, deemed whatever she wanted unreasonable, then it was good enough at the time until the passsenger fights it. Airlines and other large corporations see and deal with disabled people all the time. I'm sure they don't just make it a habit to deny accommodations. There was probably a good reason, at least that the crew thought at the time, to do what they did.
Thank you for the news link, Fluffythewondercat. Interesting additional information--the flight attendant who was running the show in the cabin was male. I don't think the blind woman is the angry "march on the capital" type. She simply was stating that being blind doesn't mean she doesn't have a right to adequate accommodation too. She did not want to be bulldozed over simply because she was an older, white blind woman.
If this incident is primarily about listening to the flight attendants, then American Airline is missing an opportunity to highlight this policy. If a passenger refuses to listen to and follow a flight attendant's direction or decision, then they will remove you from the flight.
Incidents like these show that a passenger who expresses any signs of disagreement or dissatisfaction with anything on a flight (or a disagreeable, bullying flight attendant) can be kicked off the flight. No accommodations for blind people who are cumbersome and safety hazards, despite the company policies against discrimination. They make a decision and refuse to change it, even for a petite, older white blind woman who has been flying with a guide dog without incident for over 30 years. They were willing to sell her a ticket to a seat that was supposed to accommodate her, but they couldn't and wouldn't actually honor it.
The nerve of that blind woman--thinking she somehow had a right to be there and travel like other people. Little sympathy from people in the world these days.
I don't need to read up on anything. Airline procedures are immaterial; FAA regulations apply. The ADA says a disabled person and their service animal are permitted anywhere a member of the general public is permitted. The flight crew can certainly refuse accommodation to any person or animal that represents a safety risk but there was no claim in the original post or the linked article that demonstrated or claimed a safety risk.
The captain can rule on a safety violation but certainly not on a whim which is what the language "because I can" indicated. If it is determined that there was no safety issue expect American Airlines, the involved flight attendants and yes, the captain to pay the price.
Yes, the Captain can and did kick her off because he can with no repercussions. It already happened.
Yes, the Captain can and did kick her off because he can with no repercussions. It already happened.
He already kicked the woman and dog off the plane. The investigation into why he did this is not complete. If the captain is found do have done so without regard to an unsafe situation but merely because he can you can be assured there will be substantial repercussions. Those epaulets do not put him above the law.
He already kicked the woman and dog off the plane. The investigation into why he did this is not complete. If the captain is found do have done so without regard to an unsafe situation but merely because he can you can be assured there will be substantial repercussions. Those epaulets do not put him above the law.
You aren't getting this. There will be no repercussions because the Captain can do what he wants.
Read the fine print on your last airline ticket.
The last time someone successfully sued the airlines? Never happens.
The key tidbit, for me, is there is no written policy that guide dogs are banned from first class. Once someone kindly gave her a seat there, that should have been the end of it.
You aren't getting this. There will be no repercussions because the Captain can do what he wants.
Read the fine print on your last airline ticket.
The last time someone successfully sued the airlines? Never happens.
No. YOU aren't getting this! The captain can certainly not do what he wants. An aircraft pilot is not exempt from the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. He would need a safety related reason to deny a disabled person and their service animal from taking a flight. Airline ticket fine print cannot exempt the carrier from obeying applicable federal law.
We will just have to wait and see how the courts, which treat the ADA very seriously, decide this event.
Guide dogs are not allowed in 1st class? That sounds like a law suit right there. I wonder why the ADA permits this.
No airline employee is going to tell a passenger they can't bring their service dog into 1st class. It's just not going to happen on any airline. This woman's problem was that she didn't have a 1st class ticket. You can't trade your way into 1st class. The only way to sit in 1st class is to pay for a first class ticket, or be upgraded. If she wanted to sit in 1st class, she should have bought a 1st class ticket. Airlines are very protective of their 1st class passengers. I have heard flight attendants make the announcement: "This airline has a class system. Please stay in your own section".
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Little sympathy from people in the world these days.
